Wednesday, September 7, 2016

Fiorentina all-time Team

Coppa Italia 2007

Please also see myAll-Time World Cup Team Index.This
is my selection of a 25 member all-time team for the club. The number
25 was chosen because it is the official squad size for the Champions'
League.Fiorentina have played at the top level of Italian football for the majority of their existence; only four clubs have played in more Serie A seasons. Fiorentina has won two Italian Championships, in 1955–56 and again in 1968–69, as well as six Coppa Italia trophies and one Supercoppa Italiana. On the European stage, Fiorentina won the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup in 1960–61 and lost the final one year later. They finished runners-up in the 1956–57 European Cup, losing against Real Madrid, and also came close to winning the 1989–90 UEFA Cup, finishing as runners-up against Juventus.

TeamGK: FrancescoToldo (Italy)Toldo played for Fiorentina and Inter Milan. He was one of the best keepers in the world in his prime. He had stiff competition in the national team, but still managed to start during the Euro 2000. He was the hero of the semifinal game vs Holland.

Francesco Toldo

GK: Enrico Albertosi (Tuscany)He
was one of the best keepers in his generations. He played with
Fiorentina that won Cup Winners' Cup in 1961. Then, he played with Riva
that won a scudetti with Caligari in 1970. He was a part of Italy's
European Championship team in 1968.

GK: Giuliano Sarti (Italy)Sarti
had done well in European football. In 1960-61, he helped Fiorentina
to win the Cup Winners' Cup. In 1963, he joined Inter Milan and became
the starting keeper of La Grande Inter under Helenio Herrera. He won
two European Cup with them.

RB/CB: Ardico Magnini (Italy)Magnini was a great defender for Fiorentina during the 1950's. He won the scudetto in 1956. He was a main player for Italy as well. He went to the 1954 WC Finals.

RB: Enzo Robotti (Italy) Robotti played with Juventus, Fiorentina, Brescia and Roma. He was a part of Fiorentina's defensive unit that included Sergio Castellett, Giuliano Sarti, etc.

CB: Daniel PassarellaDaniel Passarella
was one of the best center-backs ever played the game. He captured
Argentina when it won the World Cup in 1978. He was also known for
scoring over 140 goals in his career, very high for a defender. His
career was associated with River Plate. He also played for Fiorentina.

Daniel Passarella

CB: Ugo Ferrante (Italy)Ferrante won the 1968-1969 Serie A title and 1966 Coppa Italia with Fiorentina. He was capped 3 times.CB: Giuseppe Britz (Italy)Britz was an icon for Firoentina in the 1960's. He helped Fiorentina to win the 1968-1969 Serie A title.CB: Francesso Rosetta (Italy)Rosetta formed a great defensive unit with Magnini and and Cervato in the 1950's with Fiorentia. He was considered to be a pioneer for the libero position. He also played for Torino and Verona.

LB:
Sergio Cervato (Veneto)He
won the scudetti with Fiorentina in 1955-56 where they only lost one
match. They reached the European Cup Final the following season.

LB: Manuel Pasqual (Italy)Pasqual started with Arezzo in Serie C, helping them to reach Serie B. He joined Foirentina in 2005 and played with them until 2016. He is the club's appearance record holder. Capped 10 times.

Manuel Pasqual

DM: Giuseppe Chiapella (Italy)Started with Pisa, but spoebt majority of his career with Fiorentina. He played over 300 matches for them between 1949 and 1950.

DM: Giancarlo Di Sisti (Italy)Di Sisti was known for his two stints with Roma and 9 seasons with Fiorentina in between. he helped Fiorentina winning the 1968-69 scudetto. Capped 29 times.

Giancarlo di Sisti

CM: Guido Gratton (Italy)Playing with Julinho, he won the 1968-1969 Serie A title. He was known as an offensive midfielder. He also payed for Parma, Vicenza, Como, etc. He was capped 11 times.

AM: Miguel Montuorl (Argentina/Italy)Regarded as one of Foirentina's greatest footballers. Started his career in Chile. He joined Fiorentina in 1955, winning one scudetto, and the European Cup Winners' Cup in 1961. Born in Argentna, he played for Italy and he was the first non-Italian born player to captain Italy.

AM: Roberto Baggio (Veneto)He
was the icon of the 1990's. He was the World Player of the Year, the
Ballon d'Or winner and the World Soccer Player of the Year in 1993. He
led Italy to reach the semifinal at Italia 1990 and then, to a second
place four years later. For club football, he started his career with
Fiorentina. He
became the most expensive player in the world when he joined Juventus.
He also played for AC Milan, Bologna, Inter Milan and Brescia.

Roberto Baggio

RW: Kurt HamrinHe
is considered one of the greatest wingers in the history of the game.
He played in Italy from 1956 to 1971. His best years were spent at
Fiorentina, where he was considered to be one of their greatest
players. He also won an European Cup with Ac Milan in 1968. RW: Julinho (Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo)He
was nominated the best player in the history of Fiorentina in 1996. He
was one of the greatest winger in Serie A history and one of the best
player at the World Cup Finals in 1954. He turned down a chance to play
in the 1958 WC Finals in Sweden.

Julinho

LW: Armando Segato (Italy)Segato played on the left wing of Fiorentina's great team of the 1950's with Julinho on the other flank. He earned 20 caps for Italy.

AM: Giancarlo Antognoni (Umbria)He was Fiorentina's greatest ever player . He was a key player for Italy's WC winning team in 1982, but he missed the Final because of an injury. He was capped 73 times for the Azzurri. Because of his loyalty with his club, he never won anything at the club level.

Giancarlo Antognoni

AM: Rui CostaHe
was one of the best players in the 1990's Golden Generation. He starred
for Benfica, Florentina and AC Milan. He won a Champions' League title
with AC Milan. He earned 94 caps fpr Portugal. He led Portugal to the Euro 2004 Final at home.

FW: Adrian MutuHe
is Romania's joint top-scorer. He was regarded one of the best striker
in Serie A of his generation. He is best remembered for his drug
scandals in his career. Giuseppe VirgiliLuca Toni

ST: Gabriel BatistutaHe is the current top-scorer for Argentina. He first gained international recognition when Argentina won the Copa America in 1991 where he finished as the top scorer. He
earned a move to Fiorentina spending the next 9 seasons there while
becoming their all-time leading scorer. In 2000, he moved to Roma and
won the scudetto in his first season. He went to the WC Finals in 1994,
1998 and 2002.

Squad Explanation-- I selected the two older rightbacks over Moreno Torricelli (Italy).-- Sergio Castelletti was probably better than Manuel Pasqual, but Pasqual is now the appearance record holder of the club. I cannot deny the record holder from the team.-- Dunga played 4 seasons here. He missed the boat, but his position is well-covered.-- Socrates failed to adjust football in Italy. He played one season.-- Baggio is their greatest home grown talent.